Operation:HoC
In a spot not actually near Horsepower's Machine Shop, lies a secret place beneath Iacon, a mobile factory setup that has great potential for the war effort...AND the construction effort! Turrets and housing for Retoris were forged here, under Elita One's growing knowledge of weapon creation. This place is known simply as the Forge, and it's certainly off the radar. Only a few bots really know of it, not even all of Bot High Command! Secrecy has been kept in order to not tip the hand to the Con forces, except that one time Groove talked about it on Autobot Broadcast. The massive bay is almost entirely empty, despite the potential for subspace machinery to return at a moment's notice. For now, only a few computer banks, generators and a single ionizing station for weaponry is operating, a low hum echoing about. Elita One sits near a workbench, looking at a rather large weapon housing. A scanning ray passes over it, digitizing the structure which then disappears in a subspace flash of purple. Moments later it reappears under similar conditions. Whatever it is must be in the testing phase, to ensure it has proper stability... Blurr has been asked to bring some raw materials down to this mobile factory, the place known as the Forge. He arrives in his usual speedy fashion. Not there one moment, and there standing in front of you the next. "Got the supplies you asked for, where do you want 'em?" he asks the femme commander once he's arrived, carrying a couple of crates. Elita One squints as she looks over the weapon's design. To those who lived through the early war, it's distinct shape is clear. An Energon Scrambler. A less lethal variant of the mighty Energon Harvester, the Scrambler's barrel is covered up with a spinning disc to help fragment its payload. It takes a moment for the second process to complete, it is only then she looks up to you. "Ahh good, Blurr. Always on schedule." She motions near the computer console, "Over there if you would. I'll be programming those charges soon, for when Crystal City starts to heat up." She picks up the heavy weapon, then sets it on a chassis, "Ever consider getting a new weapon model? I've been working on a few designs...mostly based off my own time circuits, slow down the enemy and all, but perhaps I could whip up something more to your...speed?" Blurr nods and sets the crates down over by the console where she had indicated, smirking a little. "Of course. When you're someone like me, you don't exactly have any good excuses to be late." He moves over to where she is examining the energon scrambler and sits down across from the fem. "Yeah? What were you thinking, specifically?" he inquires further. Elita One shrugs, "Well, right now it's more about looking at past weapons, and trying to adapt them. Like First Aid's decrystallization ray. It's a sublime weapon, even if its not the true purpose of the ray, or those weapons that draw speed from the enemy." She steps towards the console, "Nothing so heavy as the scrambler or harvester, but actual speed drain." She absently punches in a few diagrams on the console. "Actually, I don't know what you've got to work with, I could be making things redundant for you." She squints into the monitor, "Glass gas, there's something that's always been trouble...probably not good for your speed, too high a chance of being affected by it yourself." Blurr listens and watches the holo-screen over her shoulder as she discusses various weapons. "Stealing the enemy's speed, huh." The former racer likes this idea. "How would that work, exactly? Slow them down and make me faster, somehow?" he asks, interest clearly piqued. Elita One taps the monitor screen, "Well, it'd probably not make YOU faster, since unless you were up against...what was his name, Redshift? someone as fast or faster than you. Mostly it'd just help you take a breather so your own systems could recharge a bit faster." She turns the schematic around on the viewscreen, "It shouldn't be that hard really, I'd just. ****STATIC**** <<<<>>>> A garbled voice starts out as video footage starts to play, the monitor quickly adapts to the hard to register voice, supplying a gender neutral tone as it plays back the message. WITH CYBERTRON'S SYSTEMS GOING INTO SHUTDOWN, MAINTENANCE IS GOING TO BE HANDED OFF TO EXPENDABLE LABOR. DRONES. Footage shows of a drone factory, then deeper into the planet. MOST OF THE BASIC SYSTEMS ARE BEING PUT INTO THE MAINTENANCE FORCES, WITH SEVERAL MAINFRAMES TO DRAW REPAIR KNOWLEDGE FROM. IN SHORT, ALMOST A HIVE ESSENCE. UNTIL OUR PLANET HEALS, THERE IS LITTLE ELSE MORE I CAN DO FOR IT. <<<<>>>> ****STATIC**** Elita One steps closer to the monitor, off to the side, then looks back at you. "Blurr...." She adds with an obvious sense of meaning, "Drone Mainframes? The entire planet's drone population draws on the same reserves of knowledge...If we could tweak that..." "So, just to slow them down." Blurr says, considering it. "Well, I already have a stun weapon, but I suppose that could be useful if it were more energy-efficient than the electro-laser." He stops and watches the footage as it comes up. "Huh. Well...if we could tweak it, then what?" he asks, tilting his head to the side slightly and waiting for her to answer. pose raises a digit as she works the console, "This system is finicky, let me make sure I can keep this data first....Let me explain, Blurr. The Forge was discovered not long ago, rediscovered I should say. No idea who made it, no idea whose records these are, but they're from early..maybe pre-war times. The system got all glitchy, gave me access to something I didn't ask for..."%R%R She continues, "The Drones are Shockwave's surveillance and logistics. Let's say we could shut down the entire operation. Force the Cons onto the same level we're at. Or possibly even convert them to our cause, They're no army, but even if its just a distraction, imagine, Blurr, Imagine what we could do. Snoop on them for a change, misinformation, resupply bases...it is an entire intelligence network." Elita One raises a digit as she works the console, "This system is finicky, let me make sure I can keep this data first....Let me explain, Blurr. The Forge was discovered not long ago, rediscovered I should say. No idea who made it, no idea whose records these are, but they're from early..maybe pre-war times. The system got all glitchy, gave me access to something I didn't ask for..." She continues, "The Drones are Shockwave's surveillance and logistics. Let's say we could shut down the entire operation. Force the Cons onto the same level we're at. Or possibly even convert them to our cause, They're no army, but even if its just a distraction, imagine, Blurr, Imagine what we could do. Snoop on them for a change, misinformation, resupply bases...it is an entire intelligence network." Blurr listens again as she continues on, then nods. "So, these drones that Shockwave had been using in the past...you can access them and manipulate their base coding from here?" he asks, intrigued. "We could use them to spy." Elita Oe nods once, crossing her arms. "We'll have to do it subtle...Look, there's a few access points about the planet. We slap in some codejacking...dataspikes..." She draws her finger along a long chute, not too unlike the Death Star's layout. "And there's a security hall here...Looks like it has a window of opportunity. So we overload a few CPUs here and there with timed attacks, and the security doors will open. If there's Con trouble in the area, it'll be a race to see who gets to the Drone Mainframe first. If we do, we slap in an override with some protection...and we've got ourselves a winner." She turns to face you fully, "Assuming we get that far, we're going to need the Fastest Mech Alive to make that mad dash..." A smirk crosses her face. This topic again. Elita One pauses, taking in a breath which really isn't needed, right? "I still don't trust this scenario...Defections are extremely rare and almost never fully take. All that happens is that both sides pretend and try to make nice while garnering intel on each other. Occasionally one side gets sent back in time, and I get to meet them in the past, but that's neither here nor there." She waves a hand dismissively at the tangent thought. "We have to be guarded in all things with Outbound. If he is sincere, he will understand our need for caution, but any play we make on him will either be a violation of trust if he's sincere, or something that Con Intel will probably discover before too long." She continues, as she steps away from the terminal, still in thought. "Direct transmission is clumsy, and easily traced as well. Blurr, you're thinking far too far overt here. This is Shockwave's domain you're speaking of. The best way to get intel from such a virus is to have it compile and deaddrop packets that need manual retrieval. Which fortunately is right up our alley." +ooc so you're Blurr in real life too eh? Blurr shrugs. He knew she didn't really approve of this little... plan, of sorts, he'd read the memos. But he figured he'd ask anyway. "I know, I know they are, Elita, but this is an opportunity I can't just pass up. I really doubt he's sincere, anyway. Like you said, very few actual defections." He continues to listen to the fem's thoughts. "Manual retrieval? You don't think that's even more overt than timed pulsewaves?" Elita One pauses, it seemed so simple to her, but not everyone has been fighting the power for as long as her, and she can count in binary on one hand how many living Bots were familiar with the necessary tactics. She raises a hand, clarifying "Mainframes generally have a wide reaching influence." Two fingers point at the monitor, "Much like this one. They can affect a large area, all that's really necessary is a terminal in range that has the ability to create and compile our info bundle. Granted, it will most likely be behind or underneath Con lines, but it'll be easier accessed than walking into Galvatron's throne room or such." "Heh. Throne room." Blurr chuckles at the interesting use of words. "Hm. I guess you're right. The program would have to have a near-foolproof way of hiding the datadrop. It'd be too easy for the Cons to simply obliterate the intel if they were to find out where it was storing the files. Maybe even a backup copy at a different interface terminal?" he suggests. "Jazz will probably have a few good leads on this, but I think the more copies are made, the more likely they'll be discovered and either used against us or just destroyed. This of course, doesn't even cover what would be needed to access the mainframe itself. Even if Outbound is on the level, the Cons aren't that easy to fool. Blades and Whirl only managed due to their histories, and after that revelation, I imagine the Con Secret Police is on high alert." She takes a moment to assess things further, "It's been quite a while since I found myself inside Darkmount. If you do take this course of action, see what you can do to keep a good scan of where you visit. Might be able to find a few blind spots or hideaway entrances." Blurr nods. "I'll be sure to do that...as for the 'Cons not being easy to fool--I know. I didn't say this would be easy. That's why I'm asking you to design the virus. Even if backup copies would make the our plans more obvious, I think it's a risk with taking. That way even if they did discover one packet, there'd still be another that they may not know about and that would require direct access order to destroy the information. Of course I'm counting on you to make sure that's how it is. Figured it wouldn't be hard--if we have to have direct access to retrieve it--shouldn't too difficult to make that so for eradicating it too." Blurr synthesizes a slight sigh. "Anyway, bottom line is--I think you have the technical prowess to pull this off, Elita." The Femme Commander seems a bit surprised as she pulls back a hair. "Me?" She tilts her head, "We have better Bots for that, but I suppose my knowledge of the enemy and the area might make up for that." It's a nonchalant commital when she agrees, a simple tilt of her head in the other direction. "I'll see what I can come up with, but...." Her words trail off, "This may not be such a bad idea, now that I think about it." She motions for you to join her, "Alright, look. I was just talking about dataspiking into the Drone Mainframe, right? To do either of these tasks, a good sample of current Con code is essential. We might be able to supplement both of our tasks with a singular mission. This may just come together after all. Granted your virus idea will probably not last too long, but probably long enough for at least one proper strike or defense against them. Security codes update pretty often, and Shockwave is most thorough about ensuring compliance. He even scrubs security codes after even suspected interference, but if he finds something suspect, like this data worm, he might not find what else is in store." "Yeah, I know. I don't expect it to last forever. Frag, if it lasts even a single megacycle I'd be impressed. But it's going to be worth it, I just know it. Besides, the more we play with Outbound, the further he's willing to go, at least that's how it's been thus far. I don't know exactly what his game is, but I have a suspicion." He pauses momentarily, thinking, before continuing. Blurr nods, grinning in response to her smirk. "You can count on me for this, Elita One. I'll beat them to it." he says, standing up. "There's one thing I've been meaning to ask you about, though. I'm assuming you've heard all about this business with Outbound. He's offered to get me into Darkmount, and I thought we could plant a virus at Master Control. One that would continuously copy and relay information from their mainframes to ours." "A code sample--that makes sense. And it's fairly easy to get a hold of. I could pull it off in a few cycles, maybe even get one of my Resistance contacts on the job." Elita One responds "I was thinking we could start some small scale raids not too close to Crystal City, to keep the Cons attention elsewhere. Perhaps as an expeditiary force from Retoris. We locate a Con info pipeline, get a sample, then move on to our respective projects, but it all depends really. I think it's time to bring this to Jazz, or Primus help us, Repugnus." "Tch." Blurr synthesizes what sounds somewhat like a snort at the mention of Repugnus. "We might not agree with Repugnus on everything, but he's good at what he does. Though he is a bit creepy at times..." he chuckles. "I guess we'd best bring it up to both of them. Maybe request a meeting to discuss our division's next moves?" ''Later...'' Darkmount Darkmount, ancestral fortress of the Decepticons. There have been three incarnations of the Decepticon capitol building; the original, built under Straxus' reign, was destroyed in the early days of the War. The second collapsed into its own smelting pits during the battle between Galvatron and Avatar the Usurper. The third stands before you now. The Darkmount compound first presents a curtain wall patrolled by drones and studded with laser cannons. Behind this stands the hunched shapes of the drone factory, the shuttle hangars and their ancillary buildings. Looming over it all is Darkmount itself, a faceless and unlovely edifice sixteen hundred meters tall, about which flights of Decepticons circle like roosting birds. Apart from the landing platform halfway up, it has no other visible apertures, no entrances at ground level. The only beings that enter Darkmount by choice can fly. At night, the tower is lit sporadically by the swaying searchlights below, having only a few running lights along its forward edge and around the landing platform. Darkmount's dull black facets are usually visible against the night sky only by virtue of obscuring the stars behind the tower. Darkmount's searchlights swing to and fro, sweeping the ground in search of any suspicious activity--in the case of any daring memers of the opposing faction who might have had the confidence to try to venture this deep into enemy territory. Most nights there wouldn't have been any to find, but this time there is, in fact, one Autobot intelligence operative skulking around in the shadows, expertly evading the glaring beacons of light and any other possibly tripwires or alarms that might lie in wait. Blurr is quietly navigating his way around Darkmount's outer perimeter, in search of some kind of remote access terminal. Any kind of control panel would do. In fact, that control array that appears to be dedicated to programming maintenance drones located near the doors to the easternmost ground-level docking platform should be sufficient for the Autobot's purposes. Now, those holographic projectors he had found in Crystal City, despite the poor quality of the ones he'd found, had come in handy then. He'd figured all they needed was a few tweaks by a few of the technicians in Operations and they'd prove to be a much better asset. Granted, their power supply was still limited, so he'd have to use it as sparingly as possible. But there was no way he could simply stand at that terminal and copy the necessary code without getting spotted, so he begins to slip quietly toward the docking area, ducking behind a pile of storage crates to activate the projector. But he keeps an optic out for any Decepticons who might be capable of detecting him, before he takes any action... Ravage drops down, the drop from Darkmount softened by four small rockets just over his four ankles, which fold in seamlessly once he's finished with them. With good old, solid ground beneath his feet, he scans the area around him, ears pivoting about as his optics check the scenery for anything out of place. Windshear follows the Decepticat and uses his heel thrusters to slow his descent. He touches the ground as deftly as the cassettecon and takes an idle glance around. He notices Ravage looking around cautiously. "Ravage," he begins quietly, "We're in Darkmount. Why so cautious?" Blurr makes note of Windshear and Ravage, but they aren't looking his way, so he activates the projector, and the hologram covers his body, a dark-purple colored Decepticon tetrajet flickering into view over the light-blue speedster. He then makes his way toward the terminal. This should be quick, hopefully no one will notice... "Because,the first time you are not, you will get caught by surprise." Ravage looks towards the other jet in the area. "It seems I am not the only diligent one here who is out on patrol." He watches Blurr's hologram-covered body while stalking towards it, scanning his database for a proper name to address the tetrajet by. Windshear follows Ravage's gaze and notices the purple Tetrajet as well. He doesnt recognize him but then again hes been gone for an earth year until just a few weeks ago. And since he transfered out of aerospace almost as soon as he came back, hes not sure how many make up the seeker core at this point. He casually follows Ravage toward the Seeker. Ravage slows his walk, letting his query run. "So, this ideal, how should we go about ensuring it remains...alive?" He pins his ears back and chuffs. "After all, if you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. This much I am certain we can agree on." Windshear ponders, "You have a point. I dont want to be part of the problem. But I have no idea how to keep the ideal alive." "Follow orders, but hold true to the ideals Megatron set forth. We cannot break apart from the main force, they serve purpose. We simply must remember where we stand, though, at all times." Ravage looks back at the tetrajet. "If one who does not hold true happens to require rescue, I cannot guarantee my efforts will end in success." Windshear snickers, "You mean they serve as fodder..." the Zombie Seeker couldnt help but put that correction in there. Hes sure the cat understood it. Then he gets serious again, "Yea I know where I stand... below everone else. No matter what I do, what I save, what I help achieve, I get nothing in return. Its tiring, Ravage. Its really tiring and its disgraceful that one such as me -- a Seeker, should be treated like this." Ravage gives Windshear a critical glare. "Pride in what you serve should be more than capable of overriding that sentiment. It has for me numerous times. After all, I am merely a scout when all is said and done." His attention returns to the tetrajet. "And you truly have no idea how frequently I am reminded of this fact." Windshear shakes his head, "Pride? Pride in what?" Blurr approaches the terminal and begins sifting through various programs, searching for any codes that would best suit his purposes. A code sample was what Elita One had asked for--it would help her in creating a virus to plant at Darkmount Master Control. But, the speedster does what he can to make it look as if he's just doing some routine maintenance on the control array. You know, just checking through the various programs for glitches or files that need to be compressed. He is aware of Ravage and Windshear approaching, and hopes they will be fooled by the hologram. He also hopes the hologram will last long enough this time. Their conversation doesn't surprise him--he always expected insubordination and lack of motivation to be rampant among the Decepticons... Ravage says, "Pride in the fact that you are a true Decepticon. Not one who wears the badge wrongfully. Though others may claim to be, as you said...they do not act with the honor a true Decepticon should carry." His gaze resettles on the unknown jet. "I am not finding this one registered..." Windshear says, "I am a true Decepticon... more then some could ever understand. But its hard, Ravage, hard to deal with the present state of things." he pauses when the catcon says the Tetrajet they are approaching is not in the database. He quietly brings his weapons on standby and addresses the fellow Seeker, "How hard was the jetstream earlier?" Blurr shrugs without looking up at Windshear, doing his best to disguise his voice. Indeed, he this particular "'Con" doesn't show up in the database. "Not bad, I guess..." he mumbles almost incomprehensibly. "Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm kinda busy, here. No time to chat." Ravage grunts. "Indeed. Busy." The panther makes his way closer so he can see the terminal being worked on. "Perhaps we can assist." There is a moment of pause as he starts running the voice heard against his databases to find a match. Jetstreams are fun things, particularly on a planet with an atmosphere to have one. Cybertron has a very thin atmosphere at best, and certainly not one that would make a viable jetstream. So if you find one and you are a seeker you enjoy it, you dont guess about it. He glances at Ravage and then steps closer to the 'seeker'. "Wrong answer, whoever you are..." he takes his weaps off stanby and raises an arm cannon. "Step away from the terminal, mech." Slag it. Blurr thinks to himself. The interface on the hologram was indicating power levels at mid-range already. Thankfully he's already located a segment of code that would work well for Elita One's purposes. Now, it was just a matter of copying it...he shoves a microchip into a datajack in the console and steps back slightly, holding his hands in the air. "Hey, hey...what's the problem? ...What wrong answer? What were you asking, again? Like I said, I was busy! Can't I at least get a repeat of the question?" Ravage steps closer to the terminal. "That is not a satisfactory response. What are you doing that has you so preoccupied that idle conversation becomes a lost art?" He gives Windshear a glance as the weapon is drawn and armed, but does not follow that particular lead, opting instead to let his focus be the technological side of things. Windshear holds his weapon steady, "Do you even know what a jetstream is...? What is your name? -- Ravage, can you see what he was doing on that terminal?" he takes a step more blocking the purple seeker and holds him in his sights. "I was just cleaning some flushing some faulty code out of the system, some of the strings get corrupted every once and a while." Blurr explains. "A jetstream, of course! Gases in this atmosphere are not dense enough to find 'em around here..." His optics are focused on that datajack--it would be finished by now. "Now if you'll just let me retrieve the disk I used for the code purge, I can get going and let my superiors know the job's been done." The hologram is quickly running out of power. Wait. An idea has struck him... Ravage frowns. "Peculiar. That would typically not be a Seeker's tasking. I should call this in." He hops up onto the terminal, the tip of his tail splitting as thin wires snake out. "Are you certain this is the story you wish to claim as yours?" Windshear takes all this in with no visible reaction and holds his ground in front of the seeker, "So then why did you say it wasnt bad then?" He says in refernce to the now conflicting comments about his jetstream question. "Who are youre supervisors?" The Dark Seeker asks suddenly keeping his arm cannon fixed on the the 'seeker' in front of him still. "I didn't really hear you the first time." Blurr excuses himself. "Like I said, I was busy." Aw, screw this! It was pointless. Suddenly, the hologram vanishes, clearly revealing the Autobot Blurr behind the short-lived disguise! And he dashes toward the terminal, attempting to knock Ravage away and grab for the microchip with the intent of taking off and hiding somewhere where the two Decepticons wouldn't easily find him. Ravage narrows his eyes as a soft growl escapes, the tip of his tail split open so that various links and cables can snake out and interface with the computer to try and decipher the data that was accessed as one of those twin rocket launchers angles towards the Autobot. "You had best rethink your actions, scrapheap." Hmm, it seems that nothing important was actually accessed. Just some drone maintenance records and protocols. Odd, right? Blurr doesn't answer Ravage's question, but keeps to the shadows, hoping to slink away before the Casseticon can call for reinforcements. He remains behind the pile of spare drone parts he has chosen for cover, waiting for the Decepticon to turn away or go off in a different direction. Ravage resets the encryptions on the data accessed, keeping it isolated from the rest of the system before hopping down to start scanning and sniffing out the Autobot. "You cannot hide from me, scrapheap. I am Ravage. You do know this, yes?" The sensor packages nestled in his optics start their scans. Slag it, he should have brought someone to be the distraction. But it seems Ravage is too arrogant to call for help. Tch, typical Decepticon! Heh, I could take him. Blurr muses to himself. It would be fun to humiliate the mech. So he steps out from behind the pile, leaning casually on it. "Oh, right, I knew that. Guess I'll have to stop trying, then, huh?" he smirks, inviting the Casseticon to attempt to strike him. Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Ravage furrows his brow. Now...this is unprecedented. Taunted? Him? He aims his other rocket launcher at the autobot and his targeting sensors take their time to lock on. "Arrogant one, aren't we. Are you that certain you won't walk out unscathed? What were you doing here and what did you want?" Combat: Ravage analyzes Blurr for weaknesses. "Like I'm gonna tell you." Blurr laughs. Oh, yeah. He's definitely arrogant. What more could one expect, he used to be one of the most celebrated mechs on Cybertron. "As far as walking away unscathed--well, I guess that kind of depends on you." Ravage says, "I want that chip." Ravage lets out a soft sigh and shakes his head. "Or at least...your intentions. Which, I suppose given time I could find out..." He chuckles softly and pushes himself to his feet. "But, then, really, who has time for that nonsense? Certainly not me, when I can just rip it from the source." The cat digs his nails in, anticipating a fight as he cocks his head to one side. "You're scrap if I have anything to say about it."" Combat: Ravage sets his defense level to Guarded. Blurr laughs again. "Or try to, at least!" He starts backing away slowly, again inviting Ravage to try to strike first. "Better attempt it soon, if you're going to--because you know me...I don't like waiting." Ravage nods curtly and just sighs as he shakes his head slowly, taking a few steps forward, trying to figure out what the 'bot's game is. "But, if you would rather have it your way, then so be it. I cannot, in good mind, let you walk with that chip. Pity." He sighs, glancing to the side as one of the rockets is sent flying. "Drop the chip, make it easy on yourself." Combat: Ravage strikes Blurr with his Heat-Seeking Missile attack! -5 Combat: Ravage (Ravage) used "Heat-Seeking Missile": A Level 1 RANGED attack. A missile is launched at Blurr, and he actually lets it hit him, still laughing. It scorches his armor, but if it hurts at all he doesn't show it. "Hahah! Congratulations, you hit me! Now when you go back to your friends, you can boast about it." Faster than lightning the speedster has activated his weapons and dashes off to the side, attempting to flank the Casseticon and nail him in the side with a barrage of laserfire. Ravage ducks low, digging his claws in and scrambling for cover as the lasers are sent his way, hardly noticing the bolt that sails right over his back. The rocket-housing closes, the muzzle of a laser pivoting around to fire back a retaliatory blast as he starts his prowl. "You are so going to pay for that. You could have scratched my finish. I will give you one more chance to drop the data and tell me why you pulled it." Combat: Ravage strikes Blurr with his Eyelasers (Laser) attack! -1 Combat: Ravage (Ravage) used "Laser": A Level 1 RANGED attack. "And then what?" Blurr taunts, as he strafes sideways. The blast only grazes an arm, just denting the surface of his armor slightly. "You think you can take me out? Really? You've barely even scratched me, and that's because I let you--to make this fight at least somewhat interesting." He transforms, shifting down into hovercar form as vehicle mode weapons emerge and fire upon Ravage as the speedster drives in circles around him. Try to hit him now! In a flurry of moving parts, Blurr folds down into a pale blue-colored supersonic hovercar. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar misses Ravage with his PewPewPew! (Pistol) attack! Ravage blinks as the 'bot transforms and does as most cats should, scrambles like a fiend to get away as soon as possible, laughing as the lasers lance the ground beside him. After all, cars and cats do not mix, and cars with weapons? Excessively so. He actually grins, running to keep alongside as his rockets are brought out once more. "You really are making this fun! But all good things must end." Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar expertly evades Ravage's attack! Combat: Ravage misses Cybertronian Hovercar with his Heat-Seeking Missile attack! Combat: Ravage (Ravage) used "Heat-Seeking Missile": A Level 6 RANGED attack. "I could keep this up all megacycle, you know." Blurr comments, still keeping on the move. Accelerating toward the sound barrier, he directs a sonic boom at Ravage! Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar misses Ravage with his Sonic Boom attack! -3 Ravage drops to the ground again. He actually felt that one pass by. His eyes flit and he turns to fire off a disruptor right back. "You don't get away from me that easily! Get over here so I can tear you apart one miserable servo at a time!" He takes off running after firing. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar expertly evades Ravage's attack! Combat: Ravage misses Cybertronian Hovercar with his Electro Magnetic Pulse (Disruptor) attack! Combat: Ravage (Ravage) used "Disruptor": A Level 1 RANGED attack. "Okay, I guess I'll let you try!" Blurr taunts easily avoiding the EMP blast, and then he drives straight at Ravage, attempting to run him over. Again, a sonic boom is created and comes the Casseticon's way. "Better be careful what you wish for, though." Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Ravage with his Sonic Boom attack! -2 Ravage tries to avoid that one, truly. Though there's a bit of a problem when it comes to a rock and a hard place here. He avoids getting bowled over by a hovercraft as the shockwave from the boom slams into him, throwing him back against the nearest pile of debris. He scrambles to his feet, systems running a diagnostic for systems damage as his optics recover and refocus. Now, this is not good...not if his readouts are telling the truth. He levels his rocket launchers at the hovercraft to fire off another salvo, though the last blow took quite a bit of fight out of him. Combat: Ravage strikes Cybertronian Hovercar with his Heat-Seeking Missile attack! Combat: Ravage (Ravage) used "Heat-Seeking Missile": A Level 6 RANGED attack. Now it's time to really get down and dirty. No more holding back! He's scored a significant hit on Ravage but being that close doesn't give him the chance to dodge the missile, which explodes against his none-too-heavy armor. However, instead of stoppping, Blurr continues past the Casseticon once he's run him over, putting a good distance between the two of them before performing a sharp U-turn and heading right back toward his opponent at full speed. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar strikes Ravage with his Sonic Boom attack! Ravage is thrown for a whirl. Errors are flashing across his field of vision at this point as he is slammed into a pile of scrap and, quite literally, buried by an avalanche of garbage. There is no real movement after that, just pieces of scrap-metal clattering as they settle. Blurr stops and transforms, chuckling. "So much for tearing me apart one servo at a time, eh?" He taunts at the pile of garbage that has fallen on top of Ravage. This had kind of been a waste of time, and a risk that he probably would've been reprimanded for by Command. Ravage could have done the smart thing and called for reinforcements. But he hadn't. Hah. Stupid 'Cons. It had been amusing, and had turned out in his favor, it would seem. But now he didn't have another astrosecond to waste--someone else might spot him. "So long, glitch!" And then he is gone! Combat: Cybertronian Hovercar begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Ravage pulls himself out as his servos strain to get back in line. There is no real cosmetic damage, it would all be internal at this point, from the sheer concussion caused by the shockwaves. He tries to get a good, solid lock, but the alignment is off and he pulls the shot before taking it. With a growl, he turns back to the computer terminal to interface and pull up a copy of the data. Decepticon Message: 2/126 Posted Author An out-of-focus transmission. Tue Mar 19 Ravage ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The video feed is grainy, damaged, out of focus. Even the audio recording is a bit off-base. Of course, the obligatory identification data files itself on the upper corner. Ravage Decepticon Status: Damaged Activity - Counter-Espionage "I would report this in written form, but the processor is sluggish and inefficient. I regret to inform of a failure on my part. One...maybe two megacycles ago, Autobot Blurr was observed accessing a terminal owned by Decepticons. He was confronted and, while damage was inflicted on him, it was insufficient. The damages caused in return were supersonic in nature and physical, or cosmetic, damage was minimal. System damage, however, was severe. Targeting computers are not functioning, gyroscopes to assist in balanced movement are no longer synchronized, and other minor subsystems are not at optimum levels. Ammunition is Yellow, three of six rockets expended." Static fills the screen for a moment before the grainy image returns. "I have recovered the files accessed by Autobot Blurr. They are lines of code, seemingly chosen at random, which belong to maintenance subroutines. Nothing significant, non-critical intelligence at best. Unknown reason for Autobot retrieval." "Ravage ou-" static fills the screen once more.